


That's A Zaddy Right There

by DiscreetKitty



Category: Z-O-M-B-I-E-S (2018)
Genre: F/M, High School, M/M, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-09-13 02:31:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16883955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiscreetKitty/pseuds/DiscreetKitty
Summary: SET AFTER THE MOVIE. After Addison learns that Bucky is making a movie about the Zombies at Seabrook, she teams up with Eliza to investigate Bucky's plot against the Zombies. What she finds is more unsettling than what she thought she'll find. Worse of all, Addison isn't sure if she should tell Zed what Bucky has planned for him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Z-O-M-B-I-E-S, nor the characters and I do not make money from it.

Addison sat at the top of the bleachers in hopes that the coach would not notice that she had snuck into practice to watch her boyfriend play football. The plan could work as long as Zed did not wave to her or make any indications that his girlfriend was there. She sat as still as possible as she watched the boys below scramble around to catch the ball as it flew in the air. Someone caught the ball, she could not tell who but she knew it was not Zed. His green hair made it easy to spot him among all the other players. It was so nice to have someone like Zed, who stood out among all the cookie cutter looking boys with their bronze or charcoal colored locks. Zed also was happy to have a human girlfriend that did not have Barbie blonde hair or sun-kissed skin. She knew he felt that way because he hated when her mom forced her to wear her wig and he always told her that he liked how her white hair reminded him of fluffy clouds and swan feathers. And he sometimes joked that she was just as pale as him. That was true since his skin looked darker after hours of practice which made Addison look paler in contrast, especially since the sun never colored her skin due to her albinism. Honestly, she could care less about the color of their complexion. What matter was that they both embraced each other differences and saw each other as beautiful.

Addison remembered the first time Zed told her she was beautiful by accidentally calling her delicious. The image of his lips widening into a grin by enunciating the word “delicious” made her blush. That made her think of yesterday at lunch when Zed had walked over to the cheerleader's table while she was studying flashcards for the PSAT. He kissed her on her cheek and said, "My beautiful girlfriend is always studying." She remembered blushing so hard that Bucky offhandedly commented that he could almost see her cheeks reddening. Other people disagreed with him saying that Addison was pale as usual but Addison still covered her face as if it was obvious. The feeling of surprised coupled with sprinkles of embarrassment made Addison blush again. Although she was far away from the players on the field, she still bashfully lowered her head as her eyes fluttered shut. 

When she opened her eyes, she noticed that all the players had stopped running and stood still.  What happened? Did something happen with Zed’s Z watch?  No one was panicking so that could not be the case. Off in the distance, she noticed that two people were talking to the coach. Due to her poor eyesight, she could not exactly point out who was talking to the coach. Even with her contact lenses in, she still did not have perfect sight since her albinism affected her vision. She squinted her eyes, noticing the blonde hair of a girl and the dark-hair of a boy. As she strained her eyes more, she could see that both of them had on pink cheer uniforms. The girl was obviously Lacey and she was just standing near the guy, letting him do all the talking. There were only a few males on a squad but only one of them would have had the audacity to interrupt the football player’s practice. It had to be Bucky. What was so important that he had to interrupt the coach during practice?

Addison watched as the coached waved a dismissal hand at her cousin and then signaled the team to continue playing. Her eyes widened when Bucky and Lacey took a seat on the bleachers. Maybe the coach informed him that he should have asked him a question after practice. That would have made sense until Bucky and Lacey left a few minutes before practice ended. Addison was sure her cousin had a reason for disrupting the team’s practice and then leaving without talking to the coach. It probably had something to do with the cheerleaders so Addison was sure that she would hear about it tomorrow during practice. 

Unfortunately, Addison only learned the reason for Bucky’s and Lacey’s visit when she was hanging out with Zed in his hometown a few weeks later. By then, Addison had forgotten all about the incident and had focused all her attention on studying for the PSAT. If it wasn't for Zed, she would have locked herself inside her room with her MacBook Pro and her favorite bag of gummy bears. Neither teens had expected to hang out with each other, especially on a school night. All she did was text her boyfriend, using emojis to express how she felt about her current study session, and then Zed offered to help her feel better by inviting her to explore the "forbidden" side of Zombietown. Addison, who was always intrigued by the zombie lifestyle, could not resist the offer. Before she knew it, she took an Uber to Zed's brownstone apartment and then the two began walking towards the abandoned sector of town.

As the blood orange sun was fading into the grayish blue sky, Zed decided to show her the first house he had ever lived in. While standing on the opposite side of the street, Zed pointed out his childhood home to her. It was a bright yellow rectangular shaped building with three uneven windows and a roof with pieces of wood missing from the center. As the sun shined one of its last rays of the day onto the house, Addison could see that the house had pieces of wood nailed on the sides to reinforce its structure. The house, if it could be considered a house, was near an abandoned factory that had specialized in making products with harmful chemicals. When the factory was opened, the fumes it released had covered the sky with a thick blanket of grayish-black smoke. Addison remembered hearing on the news that the humans that had to oversee the factory were later stricken with lung cancer. Zed mentioned that on most days the air was unbreathable and that his mom had suffered terrible asthma from it. Although it saddened Addison to see the conditions that Zed had suffered under, he happily gazed upon the shack.

"My mom painted the house yellow so my dad and I could recognize which house was ours," he explained. "It used to be so dark all the time and when I was a little kid I would always accidentally go to Bonzo's house, thinking that it was mine. My dad thought I did it on purpose because I was so lonely at home. Zoey wasn't born yet, my dad was always working long hours in the factory and my mom was sick all the time. When I was home I watched reruns of football games since Zombies weren't allowed to have cable at the time. That's why I wanted to play football and that's what taught me everything I know."

Addison couldn't help but smile as she looked at the contrast of Zed's skin against the darkening sky. The streetlight above them had turned on and it made little orbs of light dance across his skin. There was something about Zed that made him look so handsome when he talked about his family and football. It was passion. Addison loved dating someone that really cared and valued simple thing that people took for granted. She was not sure how to convey that in words and she did not need to. Zed told her that the way she looked at him told him everything he needed to know.

"So that's how you and Bonzo became friends?" she asked as she shivered as the temperature began to drop. Automatically, Zed took off her favorite jacket and handed it to Addison. She slipped it on as Zed nodded. "What about Eliza? Did she live here?"

"No," he said as the cool Autumn air slightly ruffled his green hair and made tiny goose bumps appear on his skin. "She always lived in the same house. Back then, it used to be considered one of the wealthier parts of town. I didn't meet her until me, my dad and Zoey moved from this sector. Eliza's dad gave me my first football when as a moving gift. I guess he's the reason why I am Za-star as Bucky put it."

The two laughed as Addison pictured her cousin saying that to Zed. She turned away from Zed, glancing to her right at the small schoolhouse made of brick which was near a white cathedral with black stained spots. She noticed that none of the other streetlights had turned on yet which made her wondered how she and Zed were going to find their way back to his house in the dark. Before she could make any more observations, Zed interrupted her from her thoughts.

“By the way, I totally was not picking my nose,” he laughed as he grabbed

Addison’s hand to give it a friendly squeeze.

Normally, Zed's laugh alone would distract her from her thoughts. His laugh echoed through the empty sections of town, bouncing off the abandoned school house and signaling the other streetlights to turn on. Usually, the cheerleader would stop in her tracks and enjoy how Zed made even the bleakest areas look full of life. She would have started humming a beat from a song on the Top 40 charts and Zed would have sung along, making up lyrics to receive maximum laughter from his girl. Today, none of that happened. Instead, Addison twirled around to face him, half-expecting that Zed was going to start singing a "Not Picking My Nose" song.

“What?” she asked as her eyes widened under the glow of all the streetlights.

“You know,” he said as she swung his and Addison’s arm back and forth.“On the video.”

Addison immediately felt like she had missed something. Zed clearly assumed that she had seen the alleged video while the blonde had no idea what he was referring to. For a split second, insecurity crept into her mind and she felt like an awful girlfriend. He was always there for her and stayed updated on everything that she did. In fact, he did so much for her. He even dressed up like a human every time he came over for dinner at her parents' house since they were not comfortable with their daughter dating a Zombie. She felt guilty for not giving Zed the same amount of attention he gave her. If Zed was in a video, that probably meant that he was being congratulated for something huge. The fact that she didn't realize her boyfriend was honored made her feel terrible. 

She could lie and laugh and tell him that she knew what he was talking about. One thing that Addison and Zed both appreciated was honesty and the last thing Addison wanted was for Zed to mistrust her if he caught her lying.  She gulped, perhaps looking nervous since Zed began looking concerned.

“What video?” she finally asked as her nerves were starting to get the better of her.

Zed looked relieved for a second before giving her a confused look. “The one that Bucky made," he said, speaking a little slower than usual.

Did Bucky make a video? Addison had known Bucky all her life and he never seemed interested in cinematography. There was that one time that Bucky had bought a Canon EOS Rebel after the two had watched the original Bring It On with Kirsten Dunst and Gabrielle Union. Addison had at first thought that Bucky used the camera to record the cheer routines with Stacey and Lacey but later found out that he was going to enemy school's games and recording their routines. Thankfully, Addison had convinced Bucky to stop filming other teams months before she joined the squad. The point was that Bucky was not into making little movies or short funny clips. Why would he make a video about the football team? Although the white-haired girl had many questions to ask, she decided to ask her boyfriend the first one that had come to her mind.

“My cousin made a video?” she exclaimed. 

“Yeah," he agreed quickly. "Wait, he didn’t show it to you during cheer practice?”

“No," she replied as she lowered her head at the realization that she and her cousin was not as close as she thought. "He didn’t even tell me he made a video.”

“That’s weird," Zed began. He playfully rubbed his free hand over his arm as a gust of wind blew past them. "Because he asked the coach if he could make a video to help the team make cheers that involved ..." he stopped talking as he released Addison’s hand. He spun around and said, “My signature moves.” Then he jumped as he said “Go Zombies!”

Addison thought back to the time when Bucky interrupted the football team's practice last week. She would have noticed if he had a camera with him especially since Bucky would have used his Canon EOS Rebel to film. There was a chance she was too far away to see him holding it but Addison did not think that was the case.

“I didn’t see him with a camera," she said, mostly to herself.

“Oh," Zed said, stopping for a moment to brush down his hair with his hand. "He used it the last couple of days he watched practiced. He said note-taking wasn’t enough. He even asked me to show him all my moves.  I am glad we are actually getting -"

Addison stared down as she tried to understand why Bucky would film the football team and not tell her. She could not listen to Zed since this whole situation was bothering her. There were so many thoughts going through her mind. Was she about to get kicked off the team? That's why Bucky decided not to tell her his plan to film the football players because she was going to be let go. Was Bucky waiting to tell the team once he finished getting the information he was looking for? Or did he have an ulterior motive? She looked back up at Zed to finish listening to him since she did not like ignoring him.

"He didn’t even film anyone else since I am the Za-star player," Zed continued with a laugh.

All Addison could do was widen her eyes and stare. Why was Bucky only filming Zed? The idea that Bucky was documenting her boyfriend's every move worried her. Was Bucky planning on using the footage to hurt Zed? Even if Bucky did not approve of Zed, was he so willing to hurt Zed that he did not care how it affected her? Bucky was her cousin and was the closest thing she had to a brother growing up. She loved him and she didn't want to say anything that would make Zed no longer trust him. What if Addison's suspicious was wrong? Then, she would not only destroy her relationship with her cousin but the mutual respect that Bucky and Zed had for each other. As much as she loved Bucky, she loved Zed and could not let anything happen to him. She had to figure out what was going on for herself and she could not tell Zed about it. The fact that she was keeping a secret from him made her skin grow paler.

"Addison, are you okay?” Zed asked.

“Yeah,” she lied. She leaned over and planted a kiss on Zed's cheek to let him know that she was alright.

The next day, she decided to go to the football practice to see what her cousin was up to. Once again, she sat at the top of the right section in the bleachers, watching the players chase down Zed as he held the football in his hand. She waited patiently until she saw Bucky come in and sit down in the mid-row of the left section of the bleachers. She pulled out her iPhone once she saw Bucky pull out his Canon EOS Rebel out of a black bag. As she used her phone to zoom in on her cousin, she noticed that Bucky was sitting all by himself, which was unusual since Bucky always was with Lacey or Stacey. Something must have been wrong. 

The situation seemed odder knowing that Bucky was filming her boyfriend without having one of his friends next to him. It made him seem guilty of hiding something. At the same time, Addison wondered if Stacey or Lacey was supposed to have come and they decided not to. Through the lens of her camera, Bucky did seem quite sad. Maybe he needed a little cheering up and luckily for Bucky, his cousin had a talent for making other people feel better. Ever since she could remember, the best way to make Bucky feel better was to surprise him since the shock would immediately make him forget about his problems. Plus, the guise of cheering him up was a great way for Addison to find out exactly what he was doing. 

The white-haired cheerleader walked down the bleachers, taking each step slowly to prevent her tennis shoes from making noise against the steps.  She stood behind him, knowing that what she was about to do would get the attention of Zed. She knew he would ask her later about what she was doing. That was something she could not worry about it at the moment. Her main priorities were finding out Bucky's motive for filming her zombie boyfriend and scaring her cousin to help him forget about his problems.

“Boo!” she yelled while laughing, making Bucky nearly dropped his camera in shock.  

From the corner of her eye, she could feel the coach's eyes on her. She just hoped that Zed was too busy trying to score a goal that he didn't notice her yelling. 

“Addison!” Bucky yelled as he placed his hand on his heart. “What the heck girl?”

While chuckling, she sat next to him as he looked at his camera to make sure that it was not broken. He did not seem happy to see her at all. Then again, Bucky was never the type to make his feelings of pleasure obvious. The only times she remembered when he did seem happy to see her was when he was about to either prank her, trick her or ask for her help. The last time he had even smiled in her direction was last year when Addison's mom and he had conspired to force Addison to get a spray tan. The moment always stood out since that was the first time when she realized that she could not completely trust her cousin. Thinking about that made her realize that she was smart to be suspicious of his reasons for filming Zed. Although she knew in her heart that Bucky was doing something wrong, her mind kept hoping that she was wrong and that Bucky's intentions for filming Zed were pure. The only thing she knew for sure was that she needed to seize this opportunity to find out the truth.

As she looked at her cousin, who was impatiently waiting for her to tell him the reason that she scared him, she simply replied, "You seemed lonely." That was not a complete lie since Addison did not like that he was all alone.

“Well, " mumbled Zed as he stared at his cousin through his peripheral vision. He kept his eyes on his camera as he adjusted the lens. "I’m not. You can go now.”

Addison had expected that Bucky would seem annoyed by her. That was her cousin. He was the type of person who did not like when others did something that he would not have done. He was rarely open-minded and would refuse to consider anyone else's point of view if it differed from his.

That is one of the reasons that she disregarded his instructions when it came to cheering for Zombies or other things. She knew her cousin would never listen to her. She was surprised that he began to tolerate Zed. Even after the Zombies helped win the cheerleading tournament, Zed still was not as accepting of zombies as he should have been. 

That was similar to the town as well. Zombies were still mistreated at Seabrook High by many students and faculty members despite Zed's best efforts to change that. Besides Zed, most of the Zombies were treated exactly the same. Yes, they had classes with humans but they were forced to sit in the back of the classroom. Yes, they could try out for sports but they never made the team. As Zed's dad had told Addison once, it would take generations for Zombies to have equal rights with humans and that it was unrealistic to think that one Zombie alone could change everything. However, Zed did change a lot. The government ended the legal segregation of humans and Zombies and that Zombies could be entitled to have the same privileges as humans. Yet, they did not make it easier for Zombies to assimilate with humans or to obtains those things. There had been increasing restrictions on things to prevent Zombies from getting high paying jobs, moving into Seabrook and even owning a pet. In order to adopt a dog, Zed's dad would have to buy insurance for the animal and since he could not afford it, Zoey still could not have a pet. 

Changes could not happen overnight and Addison knew that from her own experience. Her mom still did not approve of Addison wearing her natural hair and still spoke very harshly about Zombies. It hurt Addison hearing her father, who was a police officer, talk about how officers immediately do routine checks on any Zombies that come to Seabrook. She wished she could help make things better for Zombies. Maybe that's why she did not feel right with her cousin filming Zed. The last thing she wanted was her cousin making a film that encouraged anti-zombiest to expel all Zombies from Seabrook. Humans needed to help make things fairer for Zombies and Addison was going to use her power to stop any human who tried to undo everything that Zed risked his life to put in place. She would even destroy the footage along with her cousin's camera if that meant protecting her boyfriend and their mutual friends. 

As Bucky focused on filming, Addison knew that her best approach was to come across as innocent and playful.

"Wait," she started which made her cousin angle his head in her direction. "Are you filming? Can I see?”

She reached for the camera but Bucky completely pulled it away.

“No way honey!” he said as he shook his head. Why don’t you go talk to a zombie or something? I'm trying to focus.”

“Oh. What are you filming for?”

“I am working on a documentary to use to apply to a performing arts schools.”

A documentary on Zombies? This was not good at all. From Addison's understanding, Bucky wanted to show his new school that a Zombie was on the football team. What was the purpose of that and how was that going to help Bucky at all? Then again, since when did Bucky want to leave Seabrook? He loved Seabrook. The more she learned, the more she felt like her cousin and she was not that close after all. Naturally, Addison had to ask him why he refused to share any details of his life with her. They were family after all

“You want to switch schools?" she asked. "Why didn’t you tell me?”

He lowered his camera to look at her. His eyes soften and there was a sense of hesitation in his ears. It looked like he wanted to tell her the truth. She had never seen him look so vulnerable before and for a split second, it felt like this was not about the film. Was Bucky about to tell her something extremely personal? Was everything alright at home? She felt concern and her facial expression must have told Bucky she was worried because he immediately rolled his eyes. He cocked his head in his usual way, his eyes resumed emitting conceit and his lips formed back into a snarl.

“Yeah," he said in his usual high pitched tone. "I am not having a freaking zombie fest school on my application to go to college."

Addison's eyes widened and her mouth opened to say something but he immediately resumed talking and this time, with a snarky tone.

"Addy," he snarled. "Seriously, can you like skedaddle?”

Addison did not want to cause an argument with her cousin so she rose to her feet and started walking down the rest of the bleachers. As she left the field, she felt that Bucky was not being completely honest was her and perhaps not being completely honest with himself. She knew that the best way to find out exactly what Bucky was doing was to see his footage. It was unrealistic to assume that he would show his zombie-loving cousin the film. At that moment, Addison knew exactly what she had to do and it involved Eliza's help.


	2. Chapter 2

Addison stood patiently, waiting for a certain brunette to walk out the front entrance of Seabrook. Fifteen minutes passed and there was still no sign of Eliza. It would have been easy if the white-haired girl could have texted the other girl but sadly they were not at the number exchange stage of their ... well ... relationship. The two girls weren't exactly friends yet. Addison assumed that Eliza had pleasant feelings towards her but the Zombie didn't seem too interested in getting to know the cheerleader. For the most part, Addison was satisfied with the level of closeness she had with Eliza yet a part of her wished they were closer. Addison had tried to make more of an effort to be friends with her. At first, it seemed as if this kindness was well received by the brunette but there was always a flicker in Eliza's expression that indicated that she thought the human was being insincere. As Bucky would so humbly put it, Addison would not be liked by everyone and she could not be friends with just everyone. But Eliza was not just anyone. She was Zed's best friend and they loved each other so much. That's why Addison knew she could trust Eliza to help her stop Bucky from hurting Zed. The Zombie would probably do anything for Zed and maybe that was part of the reason the girls could not be close.

Addison signed just as Eliza pushed open the glass doors with one hand with her backpack slumped over her shoulders. Unfortunately for her, she did not see Addison walk behind her since she had her head down. The blonde tapped on the other girl's shoulder, making the brunette gasp as she turned around.

"Addison?" Eliza asked with a surprised tone.

"I need your help," Addison said and then added before Eliza could respond, "It's Zed."

There was an immediate change in the Zombie's demeanor. There was a flash of worry that quickly turned into a look of determination. She grabbed Addison by the hand and headed back towards Seabrook's interior.

"Where?" Eliza asked.

Addison was surprised that she didn't even ask what happened. It was like a switch went off inside Eliza and the only thing she could think of was Zed. There was something in her stride made Addison feel like Eliza would tear down the whole building, search the whole town and gather an army just to find Zed. It was hard not to deny that the two Zombies were extremely close, closer than Addison was to Zed. What if she and Zed never became that close? Addison compared her reaction to what Bucky was doing to the way Eliza behaved when Addison said Zed needed help. Why didn't she immediately do something? Why didn't she feel like she could bulldoze an entire town just to ensure that nothing happened to the love of her life? Why didn't she love Zed as much as Eliza loved him? That thought alone made the pale girl turn Casper white. 

"Addison!" Eliza yelled as she grabbed the white-haired girl's upper arm, breaking Addison away from her thoughts.

"Zed's okay right now," Addison tried to explain. 

"Then what's wrong?"

Addison pulled Eliza away from the crowd and towards a quieter area. She glanced around to make sure that none of Bucky's minions were around. She lowered her voice as she told Eliza about Bucky's film and about the conversation she had with Zed. 

“Whoa, whoa back up,” Eliza interrupted. “He's using Zed to do what?”

“To make a documentary on zombies,” Addison said. “He said he wants to leave school because of Zombies.”

Addison watched as the other girl lowered her head and sighed. When she lifted her head, she stared at the human before massaging her temples.

“Addison," Eliza slowly enunciated as Addison nodded. "You need to get that tape. This is bad. I know he’s your cousin but -”

“But Zed’s my boyfriend!" Addison interrupted in such a passionate way that it surprised herself. She lowered her head, slowly shaking it as she balled her fist. She looked up at the girl in front of her and said, "I won’t let Bucky hurt Zed.”

Eliza nodded.

They stood in silence. There were two girls that were ready to fight for the boy they loved. There were two. Two girls in Zed's life. 

And that worried the poor cheerleader. The problem wasn't jealousy. What if Zed was measuring Addison's love for him on the Eliza scale? What if Addison's love was not good enough for Zed? Was that why she couldn't even tell Zed the truth about Bucky? Was she afraid that Zed would feel that Addison was too complicated and that their relationship was always filled with obstacles? Addison had spent her whole life never feeling good enough to the point that her own parents forced her to hide the parts of her that didn't meet the mark. She should have expected that she would carry insecurities into her relationships since she was forced to grow up feeling insecure about her appearance. These insecurities never left her, they just moved it to a new area of her life. 

“What are you going to do?" Eliza asked. "He isn’t going to listen to reason.”

A small grin appeared on the cheerleader's face. The brunette seemed confused by the white-haired girl's smile. She knew exactly how the two girls were going to stop Bucky's plan against Zed. 

“You can hack computers right?” Addison asked.

“Yes, but what does that have to do with -”

“What if we hacked into Bucky’s desktop just to see his film?”

Eliza nodded as a smile spread across her face.

“That will work."

"Perfect!"

"Lead the way."

As the two girls left the schoolyard, Addison was beginning to feel guilty for the crime she was going to commit. She was about to break into her cousin's house, violate his personal property and then use the film as blackmail. She was dragging Eliza into this and making her an accessory to the crime. Worse of all, Bucky would no longer trust her after this. She did not like the idea of Bucky being mad at her. She did not want anyone being angry at her. It made her sad knowing that Bucky was forcing her hand. His hatred and prejudice for Zombies put her in this situation. Addison was so afraid of the harm that her cousin would do that she had to break the law to protect the hundreds of Zombies at Seabrook High. Addison wished that there was another way but she knew that this was the best course of action. 

Addison and Eliza walked the streets as the cool afternoon breeze ruffled their hair and kissed their skin. Addison wrapped her hands around her arms, wishing that Zed was around so he could give her his jacket. She looked over at the other girl as the Zombie zipped up her green jacket and then buried her hands in her jacket's front pockets. This made the cheerleader wish she had brought her sweater with her. Her pink lace-sleeved blouse did not offer a lot of protection against the cold. She hoped that the fifteen-minute walk to Bucky's house would warm her up. 

The walk to Bucky's house was starting to feel longer than usual. As the two girls walked in silence, Addison wished that she was old enough to drive. The drive would have made traveling with Eliza less awkward. If she was walking with Zed or Bree, Addison would have been intrigued by the conversation that she would not even have noticed how long it took to get to the destination. With Eliza, things were different. She did not know what to say to the other girl and the other girl made no effort to start a conversation. The only thing Addison could do is listen to their footsteps as their shoes created friction against the gravel. There were a few sounds of cars driving past but in Seabrook, cars were rarely used since most people preferred to walk. 

"We are turning the corner onto Farington Drive," Addison notified as she pointed across the street.

"Kay," Eliza replied.

The two girls turned and walked down the crosswalk as friendly construction workers waved to them. 

Addison walked back and Eliza chuckled.

"What?" Addison asked, genuinely unsure of what was so funny.

"You know he was flirting," Eliza informed her.

"He was being nice."

"You're too nice and you think that everyone is nice."

Addison opened her mouth to say something, then she quickly closed it. She knew Eliza was not adjusted yet to Seabrook, one of the nicest and safest towns in America. The News rarely reported murders, thievery or other misdemeanor crimes. The people here treated each other with respect and everyone was nice to everyone. One time when Addison was nine, she was so distracted talking to her friend that they became lost on their walk home from school. It was a frightening situation especially since it was getting dark. A generous man pulled up in his white Ford Focus and offered to give the girls a ride home. When Addison told her father what happened, he replied that getting in a stranger's car would have been dangerous anywhere except Seabrook. Perhaps, it was not as safe in Zombietown or maybe people were not as amiable there.

"What's going on there?" Eliza asked, interrupting the cheerleader from her thoughts.

Addison looked up and seen that there was construction at the entrance of Bucky's street. When she was visiting Bucky a couple of weeks ago, there was no sign of construction. The two girls stood still on the sidewalk as they watched workers carry a tall, heavy-looking white fencing towards the beginning of the street. It appeared as if they were going to build a fence to keep people from entering Bucky's street. That did not make any sense to Addison. Why would they build fences to keep people out? 

The curiosity got the best of the cheerleader so she walked over to the workers, then paused as she headed towards them.

"Can we help you?" asked a middle-aged, scruffy-faced worker.

"What's the fence for?" she asked. "Are we not allowed in?"

"New policy sweetie," the worker explained. "We are fencing in all the neighbors in the north side of Seabrook to protect the safety of the citizens from ..."

The construction paused and started staring over Addison's shoulder. She turned and noticed Eliza, staring uncomfortably back at the worker. Addison stared at the worker for a second before looking down at the ground. 

"You both can through for now," the worker continued and then lower your voice, "But didn't your daddy ever tell you not to feed the zombies because they'll follow you home."

Addison's eyes widen as the men began to chuckle. As she quickly walked back over to Eliza, she could feel the eyes of the men watching her. She grabbed Eliza's hand and started guiding her down Bucky's streets. Eliza stopped walking and placed both hands on Addison's shoulders, forcing her to look at her.

"Addison, tell me what happened," she demanded.

"It's okay," Addison said, obviously a little shaken up.

Before Eliza could respond, they heard one of the men say "What's wrong with her hair" and then another man responded, "She's obviously rebelling against her dad. Why else would she hang around a flesh-eating monster?" The men laughed.

Addison's shoulder began to hurt as Eliza tighten her grip on her shoulders. Rage flashed through Eliza's being, she inhaled and exhaled before turning her attention back to the cheerleader. 

"This is why it's important to stop Bucky," Eliza said. "This is what Zombies experience every day in Seabrook. That's why I was saying that not everyone is nice as you think. People aren’t happy that Zombies are here. I just don't want Zed or anyone else getting hurt by these zombiphobics."

All Addison could say back was, "Bucky did not tell me about this.”

"And why would he?" Eliza asked.

Addison said nothing.  
The two finished their walk in silence until they arrived at Bucky's house. Addison knew that Bucky and his parents would not be home for another few hours. She walked up to the front porch, uncovered the key hidden under the welcome mat and proceeded to open the door. From the corner of her eye, she could see Eliza twisting her head as if she was checking to see if anyone was watching. With a quick twist of the knob, the door plopped open and the two girls were immediately greeted with warm air as they entered the house. It was obvious that Aunt Mary's favorite color was yellow since the foyer was painted a pale yellow which matched the old-fashion telephone with the cord that dangled against the white railing of the staircase. This used to be one of Addison's favorite place to visit when she was little since it felt like ... like sunshine anytime she came inside. She closed her eyes and inhaled the soft lemon-scented air freshener that sprayed periodically. Once upon a time, this was her second home until the one incident happened. Addison did not like to allow that one awful and traumatic moment to cloud over the amazing memories she had here.

She started walking towards the staircase with the Zombie trailing behind her. Once she walked up the stairs, she glanced back at Eliza who was staring at the picture frame on the wall above the railing. The cheerleader stepped down and looked at the photograph of a young Bucky smiling with his parents. Bucky looked so happy with his pink superhero cape on as he cradled his favorite stuffed puppy in his hand. Aunt Mary looked so pretty when she let her dark hair hang low in all of its natural curly glory. That was before Bucky's dad told her he preferred her hair shoulder-length and straight. Her eyes looked glassy and empty although she had a huge grin plastered on her face. Addison stared at her uncle. His golden blonde hair was gelled back, his lips were pressed together, his eyebrows raised and his eyes looked so focused and sharp that he could kill someone just from a stare.

"Is that Bucky's dad?" Eliza asked. "He looks so ..."

"Mean?" Addison asked.

"Well, is he?"

Addison stared at Eliza for a second and gave the other girl a reassuring grin. She gestured towards the top of the staircase and the two girls walked up the stairs and then walked towards the end of the hall. Addison opened Bucky's bedroom door, her eyes widened as she walked in. She had not been in Bucky's room since she was thirteen. Back then, his room was bright green with posters of his favorite celebrities, including the Seabrook Superhero (that saved damsels from Zombies), Rob Zombie (whose music was definitely better than Marilyn Manson) and Dame Edna (Addison never knew who he or she was). He had a pink daybed in one corner of the room, his bunk bed set in the other, and a vanity set that matched his white wood desk in the center. 

"I didn't expect his room to be gray," Eliza mentioned as she walked towards the sprayed painted black desk. She turned on his computer as Addison stared at the gray bare walls. The only furniture he had besides the desk was his bed, was covered in a single gray sheet with one pillow. 

"Me either," Addison finally said. 

Eliza pulled out her laptop and started hacking into Bucky's computer. As Eliza worked on that, Addison started snooping around his room. She opened his closet door and immediately noticed that none of his cheerleading outfits were hanging up. That seemed odd since Bucky was proud of his uniform. Most of the clothes in his closet were black dress slacks and pale blue and  
stark white button downs.

There was a brown box at the top on the closet. Addison pulled the box down, nearly falling backward since the contents of the box were so heavy. She dropped the box, it settled on the floor with a loud thump.

"You okay?" she heard Eliza asked.

"I'm fine," Addison answered.

Once she opened it, she gasped. The first thing she pulled out was a brick. A brick. What was Bucky going to do with a brick? She set the brick down and then moved a clothes iron and a few board games until she noticed that there were clothes neatly folded in the box, bright pink and green material. These were the clothes that Bucky wore daily and it was odd that he hid them. She moved them around and found a few Madonna, Billy Idol, George Mitchell and Lady Gaga albums at the bottom of the box. She carefully put back everything and attempted to pick up the box until she tumbled backward.

"Addy?" Eliza asked as she ran over to help the poor human.

"I'm fine," Addison squeaked.

Eliza struggled to move the box off Addison and then helped the cheerleader to her feet. The girls worked together to pick up the box and to lift it onto the closet's top shelf. The girls were surprised the shelf did not buckle under the box's weight.

"Where's Zed and his Z watch when you need him," Addison said.

"I know right?"

The two girls laughed as Eliza returned over to the desk while Addison sat on her cousin's bed. 

It was not long until Eliza announced, "I'm in."

Addison walked over to Eliza and the two girls exchanged a celebratory high-five that Eliza was able to hack into Bucky's computer. On Eliza's laptop, she was able to see all the content's on Bucky's desktop. She started looking through his document folding, clicking through his Microsoft Word files and pdfs of saved online receipts. Next, she went through his music folder and found a few royalty-free tracks. When they finally went through his picture folders, the two girls laughed when they saw screenshots of Fortnite and Skyrim. They started clicking through individual folders under the picture folders and found random pictures of Bucky and the cheerleaders, screenshots of shoes and a couple of memes. There was a second folder under the memes folder and when Eliza clicked it, there were a few pictures of cats and then a third unnamed folder with pictures of shirtless actors.

She stepped away from Eliza as she shook her head. She was going through her cousin's private folders and discovering that Bucky was trying to hide his life and his desires from his family. Addison always wondered why her cousin helped her mom trick the poor cheerleader into getting a spray tan to hide her albinism. Or why her cousin strongly suggested that she go back to wearing blonde wigs. It's because it was so normal for him to hide that he did not see why Addison could not do the same. 

This was wrong. Bucky was her cousin and she should not have thought that he was going to do something sinister to Zombies. He had to be telling Addison the truth when he said he was just making a simple film to show film schools that he could make movies. But why did he chose Zombies of all things?

"I found the footage!" Eliza cheered. 

Addison walked back over, hoping that Bucky's film was innocent. The human hovered over the Zombie as Eliza turned her laptop's volume up and started playing some of his shots. The first shot was a soundless recording of the football players walking onto the field. The next shots were videos of gameplay. Then, there was one in the locker room where Bucky was talking to the players. The clip was soundless but it was obvious the guys were talking to the camera. Many of them were shirtless and some were even in their underwear. A few guys were playfully dancing around in just their boxers. Then, a shirtless Zed came up and exchanged a fist pump with Bucky. Other guys came up and playfully shook Zed's shoulder, high-five him or laughed at him. It did not seem like they said anything hurtful because Zed laughed and spun around. 

"Nothing alarming here," said Eliza. "Except the fact that I can literally smell their stink from here." Addison laughed. "If he's making a movie, then there should be something where he combined the clips."

She opened Adobe Premier and clicked on the most recent projects. There was a lot of footage that appeared edited. The two girls watched a few minutes of the film and listened to the voiceover of Bucky explaining his experience working with a Zombie. Addison's heart felt like it stopped as she waited for Bucky to say something bad. Then, he heard Bucky say Zed's name.

"Zed is the Zombie that changed my perspective," Bucky's said in the film as clips of Zed appeared on the screen. "He changed my world." Clips of Zed walking off the field with Bucky and laughing appeared on my screen. "We laugh, we hang out and we even exchange inside jokes." There was footage of the two at a McBurger laughing and the audio cuts to Bucky saying, "That hot girl over there just called you Zaddy." Zed laughed and then pointed to himself saying, "I am a total Zaddy." The footage is a close up of Zed grabbing Bucky's fries and the audio goes back to a voiceover of Bucky saying, "The only thing I am worried about is him eating my food before I finished it. To me, Zombies, especially Zed, are the only ones who could understand what's it like to be different, a deviant in a perfect town. And yet, the Zombie I care about the most still probably will never fully understand me." There was a far away shot of what looked like Zed and Addison. 

The film ended and Addison did not know what to think. She stood up and turned away from Eliza. 

"I guess we had nothing to worry about," Eliza said with a shrug. "Well, at least I have nothing to worry about." 

Eliza did a few more things on her computer before closing her laptop. 

Addison heard the sound of footsteps and felt a light touch on her shoulder.

"Addy, we have to leave now," she said. "I don't feel safe walking down these streets by myself."

Addison nodded as the two left Bucky's house. As the two girls started walking up the street, Eliza stopped walking and turned to Addison.

"You can tell me," Eliza said. "I get it."

"I don't understand Eliza," Addison explained as she kept her voice low. She looked at Eliza and she could tell that the other girl cared. This was no longer about Bucky or about Zed, but about Addison. 

"What did you find in Bucky's closet?" Eliza asked.

Addison shook her head as she replied, "It's like he's hiding from his family. The clothes he wears are hidden in a box with bricks inside. And the last time I saw his room, it was bright green with posters of superheroes and rockstars. Then, the folder of the all the guys and how close he seems with Zed. And Zed didn't really tell me that they hang out. It's just -"

"Feels like you are the last to know," Eliza interrupted. "I didn't know Zed and Bucky were ..."

"Right," Addison agreed. "I'm going to talk to Zed. I just don't know what to think about Bucky."

"Can I tell you what I think?" Eliza asked.

Addison nodded.

"The film is not finished," she said. "He could still be planning something to put at the end. Why else would he have a brick in his closet? I still think you should talk to Zed. He needs to know what could happen."

Eliza’s words echoed through her head as Addison walked with Eliza to the border of Zombietown. It took an hour to walk there but Addison needed the time to think and talk out what she was thinking. It was nice having another female to talk to that would understand. Although Bree was her friend, she was not the type of person Addison could have deep and important conversations with. Zed was the only one she could have those conversations with and he would always make her feel so much better. With Eliza, she understood Addison’s hesitation about telling Zed especially since she was thinking along the same lines as Addison. 

“Addy,” Eliza said as they started walking towards the Zombie’s house. “What’s your number? Friends should have each other’s number.”

The two girls exchanged numbers and then added each other on their social media. It was nice to know that Eliza and Addison were finally friends. Zed was going to be so happy knowing that both of the girls in his life were friends.

“I feel bad that you walked this far,” Eliza said. “How are you going to get home?”

“I am going to visit Zed,” Addison said.

Eliza nodded as Addison started walking towards Zed’s house. There was no way she could go home without talking to Zed. She was not going to hide this from Zed any longer.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my story! Please favorite, follow and review since it encourages me to continue writing. Feel free to follow me @discreetkitty on Instagram and @DiscreetKitty96 for story updates, nostalgia show posts, and request.


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